Which is a better VPN between ExpressVPN and Windscribe?
Even though these two VPNs are popular, each one has their own strength and weaknesses.
In this ExpressVPN vs Windscribe comparison in 2021 we are going to look at the pros and cons of these two vpns.
We’ll compare them along the lines of internet speeds, streaming capabilities and torrenting support… including advanced security features like ad blockers.
I hope that by the end of this comparison you’ll be able to choose the better VPN for you between the two.
Let’s get to it.
About
ExpressVPN is a VPN company located in the British Virgin Islands that enables you to access the internet completely anonymously, including in internet restricted countries like China.
It was founded in 2009 and since then has grown its user base, with more than 100 million Play Store downloads of their Android app.
Check out my detailed review of ExpressVPN.
Windscribe, on the other hand, is a Canadian based VPN company that will provide you with secure access to the internet, using military-grade encryption technologies.
It majorly became popular because of their free plan that attracted a lot of user VPN users.
Here is a complete Windscribe review.
Server Collection
How does Windscribe compare with ExpressVPN in terms of their servers collection?
If a VPN has more servers, it means that you’ll have a lot of options when choosing a server to connect to in the apps. It also increases the chances that there is a server in the country that you’d like to connect to.
However, just shear amount of servers doesn’t always translate to better performance.
Even though their numbers are not as huge as those that you’d see with NordVPN, they are really spread out to cover a wider geographical region.
Windscribe, on the other hand, has more than 450 VPN servers that are located in 60 different countries.
As you can see, Windscribe server count is pretty low compared to ExpressVPN… heck, even their geographical coverage.
So if you are looking for a VPN with a wider geographical coverage and has a larger collection of servers that ExpressVPN is the clear winner here.
Streaming
What about when it comes to streaming content on platforms like Netflix… which one has better streaming capabilities?
In order for a VPN to be labelled great for streaming, it should at least be able to unblock most of the popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and BBC iPlayer.
ExpressVPN performs very well when it comes to streaming.
Using their servers based in the United States, you’ll be able to unblock and stream content on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime.
In addition to that, their UK based servers are great at unblocking BBC iPlayer.
Back to Netflix, you’ll not only be able to unblock Netflix in the US but also in other countries like UK, Japan, Canda, Germany and Brazil.
Windscribe, on the other hand, also tries to catch up to this streaming game. It has special streaming servers that are called Windflix servers.
So if you want to unblock streaming content on, say Netflix, you first need to connect to the Windflix servers based in the country whose content library you want to stream.
At time of writing this Windscribe vs ExpressVPN comparison, there are Windflix servers in the US, UK, Canada and Japan.
And apart from Netflix, their servers can also unblock Hulu.
Overall, ExpressVPN is a better VPN for streaming as compared to Windscribe.
Speed
How does ExpressVPN vs Windscribe speeds compare?
As much as a VPN can unblock a streaming platform, it is very important to analyze their internet speeds.
This is because fast speeds is key to delivering a great user experience… especially when it comes to streaming video content online.
You don’t want your streaming experience ruined by a slow VPN that keeps you waiting, with lags and video buffering while you are watching your favourite show.
I tested the speeds of these two VPNs by connecting to their servers based in three different countries. I then used the popular website, speedtest.net, to measure the download and upload speeds before and after connecting to their servers.
From this I was able to calculate the average drop in speed to find the VPN that maintains higher speeds.
ExpressVPN had an average download speed that was 87% of my speeds before connecting to any of their servers. This gives ExpressVPN a speed rating of 4.4/5, which is more than enough for most use cases.
Windscribe, on the other hand, performed rather dismally as I was only able to get an average of 72% of my initial connected speeds.
With a speed rating of only 3.6/5, I consider Windscribe to be a rather average VPN when it comes to internet speeds.
It is therefore clear that ExpressVPN is a faster VPN than Windscribe. In fact, it’s because of this reason that it made it to the list of the best VPNs for speeds in 2021.
Torrenting
Which VPN between Windscribe and ExpressVPN is better suited for torrenting?
In order to be able to torrent without looking behind your back, you first need to connect to a VPN that can hide your IP address.
But hiding your IP address alone is not good enough, you need to ensure that the VPN you are using does not keep any logs of your IP address or any other activity logs that can be used to link you to any activities on their servers.
ExpressVPN supports torrenting activities on all their servers.
Since all their servers are optimized for P2P file sharing, you don’t need to connect to any special P2P servers to start downloading… any server would do.
Add that to the fact that, they do not keep any user-identifiable logs, then you can rest assured that your torrenting is private and anonymous.
Windscribe also supports torrenting activities on their servers.
Since not all their servers are optimized for P2P file sharing, the servers that do not torrent have a P2P label crossed out in front of them.
It means that if you want to torrent, you just need to connect to any server that does not have a crossed out P2P label.
Even though Windscribe does keep logs of your last connection time and bandwidth usage, they do this mainly to help with administering their free accounts, as this data is only kept for the last 30 days.
So torrenting with Windscribe should be pretty safe.
Both VPNs are great for torrenting, through ExpressVPN clearly will deliver faster download times.
Privacy Policy
Which VPN between ExpressVPN and Windscribe provides true privacy online?
If a VPN really wants to make your internet usage private and anonymous then they need to keep as little information about you as possible.
This way, no one really gets to know what you are doing online but you.
We’ll compare Windscribe vs ExpressVPN privacy policies by looking at their physical jurisdictions and then their user logs policies.
ExpressVPN, to begin with, inspires some confidence as it is located in the British Virgin Islands.
The BVI is a pretty much privacy-friendly country as they do not have any mandatory data retention laws that obligate VPN companies to keep logs. In addition to that, ExpressVPN also does not keep logs of your IP address or DNS queries.
However, they do keep logs of your bandwidth usage, your connection location and your actual ISP.
While this amount of logs might worry you, there is a security audit that was conducted by an independent security first that established that this information is kept in an anonymized format and cannot be used to identify you.
Windscribe, on the other hand, is located in Canada which is not a great place at all for a privacy-conscious VPN company.
Canada, to begin with, is a founding member of the 14 eyes countries surveillance alliance that spy on their citizens and then share their personal information.
However, after reading their privacy policy, I established that Windscribe does not keep logs of your connection timestamps, IP address or session durations.
They only keep logs of your last connection time and bandwidth usage in the last 30 days to administer the free plans.
Encryption and Data Protection
In order to secure your data, VPNs use encryption technologies to ensure that your information is unreadable if it lands into the hands of a malicious hacker.
So what encryption does Windscribe and ExpressVPN use to secure your data?
ExpressVPN and Windscribe both use an AES 256-bit encryption technology to encrypt your data. It is an encryption algorithm that has never been hacked before.
So even if a hacker listening on your network traffic grabbed some data packets, they won’t be able to decrypt and see the actual information.
In addition to encryption technologies is the use of VPN connection protocols. These protocols ensure that their is secure communication between the VPN apps and the VPN server.
Again, both Windscribe and ExpressVPN support OpenVPN and IKEv2, which are the two most secure protocols. They have never been hacked before.
So you are rest assured that your data on these VPNs is damn secure.
Ad Blocker
Are you looking for an ad blocker to be able to block ads on most of the sites that you visit?
Because most websites have become very aggressive with their ads placements these days, it is for good reason that some might want to block these ads.
Too many ads make the website cluttered and are a complete distraction when you are trying to read something.
This kind of aggression is not acceptable 🙂
So how does Windscribe vs ExpressVPN compare in terms of their ad blocking capabilities?
ExpressVPN, unfortunately, does not have any kind of ad blockers at the moment. So you won’t be able to turn off these ads nor even stop the ad trackers that these ad networks install in your browser.
Windscribe, on the flip side, has an ad blocker called ROBERT.
Using ROBERT, you can block ads, malware, ad trackers and even cryptominers that websites try to install on your browser.
So if you are looking for a VPN that supports an ad blocker, then the clear winner here is Windscribe.
Dedicated IPs
If you connect to your VPN server the usual way, then you are going to be assigned a shared IP address.
This IP address is also random, meaning it keeps changing every time.
While this is good for being anonymous online, some security-sensitive applications will have a problem working with a random IP.
For example, say you want to access your home security camera feed remotely.
You first need to whitelist a dedicated IP address in the network so that you can use it for secure remote access. So in that case, you’ll a VPN issued dedicated IP address.
Which one supports a dedicated IP, between ExpressVPN and Windscribe?
ExpressVPN, unfortunately, does not support any dedicated IP addresses at the time of writing this Windscribe vs ExpressVPN comparison.
Windscribe, on the flip side, has a static IP that can work as a dedicated IP.
Even though a static IP is NOT a dedicated IP in the sense that it could still be shared by other users, the IP address does not change.
So you can easily whitelist this IP address in your apps so that you are not asked to prove you are not a robot anytime you visit a site using the other shared IPs.
However, this static IP address is a premium addon, so you have to purchase it separately.
While Windscribe is great for a static, here is a list of the best VPNs for dedicated IPs if you want an IP address that is only used by you.
Kill Switch
If you want to ensure that your device is secured at all times then you need a VPNwith a kill switch.
A kill switch will ensure that your access to the internet is only possible through your encrypted VPN tunnel at all times.
So in case your VPN app disconnects from the servers, internet access for your entire device is blocked until a secure connection is successfully reestablished.
ExpressVPN and Windscribe both have a kill switch that, when turned on, will ensure that your IP address never gets exposed to the sites that you visit.
Split Tunnelling
If you want to be able to split traffic on your devices so that some apps have their traffic encrypted and channelled through your VPN tunnel while the others have their traffic channelled through your ISP as usual…
Then you need a VPN with a split tunnel.
ExpressVPN has a split tunnel that enables you to whitelist certain applications on your device to be exempted from your VPN.
For these applications, their traffic is not encrypted. So you lose on the added security that a vpn encryption brings.
Windscribe, on the other hand, only supports split tunneling on their Android apps.
Works in China?
How does Windscribe and ExpressVPN compare in terms of their ability to work in China?
Since VPNs are blocked in China, you need a VPN that is able to make its traffic invisible to the great firewall of China in order to bypass China’s firewall.
ExpressVPN and Windscribe will both work in China.
So you can use any of these VPNs to access censored and blocked sites in China, like Facebook.com and YouTube.com.
Pricing
As we near the end of this Windscribe vs ExpressVPN comparison, let’s look at their pricing plans to establish the cheaper VPN.
ExpressVPN has a 1 year plan, their longest plan, that goes for $ 8.32/month, billable upfront.
Windscribe, on the other hand, also has their longest plan being the 1 year plan that goes for $ 4.08/month.
So it is clear that Windscribe is a much cheaper VPN compared to ExpressVPN.
Payment Options
What options do you have when making payment for your VPN subscriptions?
ExpressVPN supports various payment methods that include credit cards, PayPal and Bitcoin payments.
Windscribe, on the other hand, accepts credit cards, PayPal and crypto payments through Bitcoins.
So both VPNs accept anonymous crypto payments.
In Conclusion
I hope this comparison of Windscribe with ExpressVPN has helped you learn about the pros and cons of these two VPNs…
Are you now ready to make a choice of the best VPN for your needs?
If you are willing to pay more for a VPN that is super fast, unblocks all streaming platforms and has a strict zero-logs policy, then I recommend ExpressVPN.
However, if you are trying to save some bucks, can work with average speeds and want a VPN with a static IP, then Windscribe is your logical option here.
Have you used any of these VPNs before?
Please share your experience in the comments below.
